What started off as a bet made in jest between me and Peetz senior Josh Fiscus, who at the time I only knew as the friendly stat keeper for the Bulldogs football team who would text me half time and final scores, turned into a running joke, and then an actual competition following the Bulldogs' practice on Thursday.

Back before I started making my rounds for the winter preview, I quipped to Fiscus that, if he could stomach the embarrassment of potentially losing to an out-of-shape sports writer, I'd challenge him to a 3-point contest, my previous high school specialty.

Fast forward to Thursday night, where now I know Fiscus as one of the handful of players in Peetz history to have eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark and pure scorers in the county, there was no taking back my sour-tasting words as we stepped on the court to settle the bet.

We took four shots from each of the five traditional spots behind the 3-point line. If Josh won, I'd write this feature. If I won, he'd live with the shame.

I went first, hoping that my body that is filled with more hops, the plant, than hops of the athletic kind, could muster up one more shining moment.

I promptly clanked seven of my first eight shots.

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Over the final three spots, I managed a respectable 7 of 12 to hold on to some dignity, but against one of the best shooters, along with Ethan Rose from Sterling High School, currently in Logan County (in my opinion), my round only delayed the evitable.

The lanky Peetz guard calmly buried shots with ease as he made his way around the court, matching my total at the straight away spot, then passing me for good when he moved to the final wing position.

Final score: Fiscus 11 makes, Wilson eight makes.

Josh and his dad, Bill Fiscus, who is the Peetz head coach, Prairie's all-time leading scorer, a former Northeastern Junior College player, and a deadly shooter in his own right, tried to hide their smirks.

The only thing hurt during this was my ego, but a bet is a bet and I'm a man of my word.

After watching Peetz get off to a 3-3, 2-0 1A North Central League start before the break against a loaded non-conference schedule, with Fiscus scoring in double-figures and leading the way for Peetz in each of the five games he played in, I knew my winning percentage going in was pretty low.

Peetz senior Josh Fiscus (left) stands with his dad and Peetz head coach Bill Fiscus before a game against Prairie with the game ball and certificate commemorating his 1,000 career points he achieved against Pawnee on Dec. 13 earlier this season. (David Wilson / Sterling Journal-Advocate)

Josh's shooting ability is no accident. It has come from years of being in the gym early and staying late that made him a starter his freshman year and the primary scorer in the Bulldogs' offense.

"He spent the time in the gym since he was probably a sixth grader. Anytime you get a kid that will be a gym rat, they will become a go-to player," Bill Fiscus said. "It could be my kid, it could be your kid, or it could be anybody's kid, but it's about the time that you are in the gym, by yourself, that is going to make you that go-to scoring guy. He did that and it became apparent that was the way we were going to play it."

Josh, an avid hunter in his free time, is not afraid to fire from anywhere on the court either and has a short memory that bodes well for if and when he does miss.

Instead of the fear of missing, the senior exudes the confidence that every shot that leaves his hand will find the bottom of the nylon and that mentality, along with the volume of looks he gets during the course of a season, led him to joining some of the best all-time Peetz scorers when he passed the 1,000 career point barrier on Dec. 13 in the third quarter of the Bulldog's game against Pawnee.

"It's special (to score 1,000 career points). Peetz is known for having some really good players," Josh Fiscus said. "We've had players like Gage Roelle, Justin Clevenger and Kegan Carwin in the past couple of years that could score at will and to be in those ranks is pretty special. Then you get down to the Gary Schumachers in the later years and it's really special to be in that group."

On some teams, having one primary shooter can be upsetting to the other guys on the floor, but Josh credits the rest of his Bulldogs teammates for allowing him to be the facilitator, while they stay engaged as opportunistic scorers.

"I have great teammates: Bradey (Holtz), Casey (Barrett), Corbin (Heller), Tre (Lewis), Cody (Wilson) and all of the rest of the guys know that they can knock down the open shot. And they know that they get better shots if I can do my thing so they kind of let me do what I want and they get their open looks," Josh Fiscus said.

As the Bulldogs embark on the rest of the season, starting next Tuesday at Creek Valley, the hopes are high that the program that hasn't finished above .500 since the 2009-2010 season is in the midst of turning a corner this year.

To do that, every one of the Bulldogs players will be essential.

"I talk about continuity and five guys playing as one and that's what we're trying to get to," Bill Fiscus said. "Josh has a role on this team. Josh is not the lone all-star. He has a role and his role for us is putting the ball through the hoop. Rebounding is a role. Kids have to play that role, accept that role, and this group is accepting roles like 'I play defense. I rebound. I assist. I get steals.' And each role is just as important as the other. If the kids continue to buy into that then I'm real confident about where we can go."

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